Constitutional Law, Free Speech, International, Religion, Society

Christian Couple Beaten and Burned In Pakistan For Blasphemy

220px-Lewes_Bonfire,_discarded_torchWe have previously discussed the scourge of blasphemy laws, particularly in Muslim nations, used to punish and even execute people with differing views of religion. We have a deeply disturbing new case outside of Lahore, Pakistan where a Christian couple was accused of desecrating the Koran (Quran), beaten by a mob, and then burnt in a brick kiln where they worked. The couple, known only as Shama and Shehzad, were killed at the behest of a local Muslim mullah in Kot Radha Kishan, some 60 kilometres from Lahore.

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Bizarre, Free Speech, Politics

Hockey Coach Fired Over Facebook Postings Glorifying The Nazis

10356058Christopher Maximilian Sandau, 33, is by all accounts a perfectly good minor hockey coach in British Columbia. Nevertheless, he was fired recently by the North Delta Minor Hockey Association because of his support of Nazi propaganda and history. It is the latest example of an employee being terminated for their statements or associations outside of the workplace.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Politics

Not So Fast: Obama Administration Waits Until Election Eve To Dump Over 64,000 Pages In Fast and Furious Operation

holdereric260px-capitol_building_full_viewThe Justice Department has previously been held in contempt by Congress and hit with increasingly tough court orders from a federal judge over its obstruction of efforts to secure evidence in the notorious Fast and Furious operation. Many have accused Attorney General Eric Holder of acting blatantly political in withholding documents to protect Democrats from backlash before the elections. As if to prove that view, the Justice Department waited until late on election eve to finally dump more than 64,000 pages of documents congressional lawmakers have been seeking for years. The timing was almost taunting in its impact. Guaranteeing that the content could not be viewed before people voted, the Obama Administration’s long obstruction resulted in this troubling image of a politically timed release. The Administration previously admitted that it would not discuss its plans for unilateral immigration action until after voters had gone home from the polls.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International

Elderly American Professor Arrested For Taking Picture Of Sign Prohibiting Photography In The United Arab Emirates

1907858_713976835361012_7424677237227212493_nDr. Alan Black, an American professor, was arrested last month for taking a picture of a sign banning photography. That act could send him to jail for five years. Various sites have been created to rally support for Roberts who is facing an absurdly harsh legal system and a rule against photography that can only be described as pathological.

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Torts

New Jersey Man Killed By Falling Tape Measure At Construction Site

479px-Construction_WorkersA bizarre tragedy has struck at a construction site in New Jersey where Gary Anderson, 58, was hit and killed by a falling tape measure from 50 stories above. The one-pound tape measure came off a construction worker and hit Anderson who had just stopped to speak with another worker in a pick up truck.

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Bizarre, Criminal law

IRS Worker Allegedly Knocks Out Woman And Offers To “Help” Officers To Avoid Arrest

Stephan-SappMost people in Heinz Field were delighted by the Steelers-Ravens game with a win of 43-23 for the Steelers. Stephen Sapp, 29, however, appears to have decided to force his own impromptu tryout as a replacement for kicker Shaun Suisham. Sapp was allegedly kicking a steel barrier and screaming near the C Gate. Officers told Sapp to leave but he reportedly began “to violently and recklessly push and throw the steel dividers around in a dangerous, disorderly manner.” When they threatened arrest, he then allegedly kicked another steel barrier so hard that it caused it to bend, come off the ground, and hit a woman on the other side so hard in the head that she was knocked unconscious. He was then hit with a flurry of charges, including most notably bribery. Yes, bribery.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International

Israeli Activist and Artist Sentences To Home Confinement and Banned From Internet After Posting Videos Defecating On Israeli Flag

141500528197676391a_bIsrael has arrested and then given two days of house arrest for a rather bizarre form of expression: defecating on flags, including Israel’s flag. I cannot say that I am eager to attend a showing of the Natali Cohen Vaxberg’s scatological creations, but the sentencing clearly violates free speech protections that many of us believe are a core human right. Warning: foul language is contained in the story below.

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Criminal law, International, Society

China Uncovers Corpse-Cash-Cremation Scheme: Two Officials Arrested For Allegedly Buying Corpses To Make “Cremation Quota”

220px-Verbrennung_eines_Toten_in_einem_Krematorium_2009-09-05There is a truly bizarre crime being reported in Beiliu City, China. Two officials were faced with a quota for cremated bodies under a law encouraging this form of disposal over burials. Two short of the quota, the officials reportedly employed a grave robber named Zhong to supply bodies for cremation.

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Criminal law

California Man Arrested In Triple Killing and Hit-And-Run On Halloween

Trick-Or-Treaters KilledMany people were horrified by the triple killing in Santa Ana when a man struck and killed three teenage trick-or-treaters on Halloween then fled the scene without stopping or calling for medical assistance. The police found the abandoned car with the help of a fast-thinking woman who followed the man. Police have now made an arrest and the accused has a long record of drunk-driving and hit-and-run. His name is Jaquinn Bell, 31.

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Politics, Religion

Iran: Human Rights Are Just A Western Lifestyle Choice

250px-flag_of_iransvgIran has denounced the latest report detailing its denial of the most fundamental human rights under its blood-soaked Sharia legal system. The report details the widespread executions of homosexuals and religious dissidents in the country in the name of Islam as well as the denial of basic free speech and association rights. The country executes people by stoning, hanging, and even crucifixion. Mohammad Javad Larijani, chief of human rights in Iran’s government, responded by calling such human rights as a Western invention and lifestyle choice. What is truly shocking is not that the troglodytes in Iran cling to their medieval system but that various countries stepped forward to praise or defend it, including Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Sudan, Syria, Vietnam, Venezuela, Yemen and Zimbabwe. Once again, the endorsement of Venezuela of the most abusive regime in the world shows the plunge of that country’s values in the Chavez and post-Chavez administrations. Notably, this report came shortly after the hanging of Reyhaneh Jabbari and shortly before the imprisonment of Ghoncheh Ghavami

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Academia, Constitutional Law, International, Politics, Religion, Society

Niger Yields To Demands From Muslim Clerics And Stops Reproductive Health Course In Country With The Highest Fertility Rate In The World

Coat_of_arms_of_Niger.svgMuslim clerics declared victory last week in Niger after the government agreed to withdraw a course on sexual and reproductive health from the school syllabus. Islamic organizations and leaders denounced the classes as against Muslim values. Niger has the world’s highest fertility rate and 30 percent of girls are married by the age of 15. The country reports that average of around eight children per woman.

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Academia, Bizarre, Free Speech

New Jersey College Rescinds Suspension of Professor For Picture Of Daughter Wearing Game of Thrones Teeshirt

thrones19n-1-webIn Paramus, New Jersey, Professor Francis Schmidt has faced a bizarre suspension after he posted a photo of his daughter wearing a tee-shirt with a quote from the HBO “Game of Thrones” series that read “I will take what is mine with fire and blood.” Bergen Community College in New Jersey suspended Schmidt as a possible threat to the Dean. While such theories would fit a storyline out of the Game of Thrones, it sits rather badly for an academic setting respecting the freedom of speech. The school has

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Politics, Religion

Iranian Court Sentences Woman To One Year In Jail For Attempting To Attend Volleyball Game With Men

_77567454_77565364We previously discussed the case of Ghoncheh Ghavami, 25, who was arrested for trying to attend a men’s volleyball game. Iran imposes a Sharia legal system that punishes those who do not comply with medieval religious rules and practices. Ghavami has now been found guilty of “propagating against the ruling system” and sentenced to one year in jail.

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Animals

Contracts Beats Torts in 2014 Charity Paintball Competition

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Yesterday, the ten members of the 2014 Torts and Contracts paintball teams met yet again on a remote Virginia field in a test of strength, daring, and skill. It is with a heavy heart that I must report that Contracts beat Torts in a final score of 4-2-2. The annual competition is the outcome of an auction to support our public interest law program at George Washington University. These contests have raised thousands of dollars of indigent clients and public interest work.

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